


Back in the Blue Box

by ErinisMagic



Category: Doctor Who (2005), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Adventure, Gen, Memory Loss, Slight Regression, fun times, traveling with the Doctor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-29
Updated: 2013-02-26
Packaged: 2017-11-27 08:56:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/660138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ErinisMagic/pseuds/ErinisMagic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony hit his head when one of his experiments exploded, and now he doesn't remember the Avengers! But he remembers... the Doctor? Doctor Who?!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Not Okay

An unexpected bang rang out from Tony's workshop, accompanied by an unprecedented amount of smoke pouring out from the cracks around the door. Quite a few of Tony's experiments had blown up before, but none of them had seemed this bad. Steve had been the only one around at the time, but JARVIS was quick to call the others down from their respective floors.

Steve yanked open the door, and was sent into a fit of coughing as a plume of foul smelling smoke rolled past, making his eyes water. He pushed forward, though, needing to make sure his teammate hadn't been hurt.

At first, trying to see through the smoke had been like trying to look through a solid wall. It filled the air so much that Steve could barely see anything. As it started to clear, he could just make out Tony's form lying on the ground not far from the source of the smoke. “Tony!” he called. That seemed enough to snap him out of his daze and he sat up, coughing, and waving his hand back and forth in an effort to clear some of the smoke away from his face.

Steve was at his side in a heartbeat, placing a steadying hand on his shoulder to make sure he wouldn't fall. Most of the smoke had cleared by now, so Steve could see his teammate's face. He had a few dark smudges on his cheeks, and his hair was all messed up, but he didn't appear to be hurt. “Hey, you okay?”

“Yeah, fine. Just... where am I?” Tony's eyes flicked around the room, looking a bit confused. 

“You're in your lab.”

“My lab?”

“In New York,” Steve probed gently. He was starting to get a bit worried. Did Tony really not recognize his own lab? “You sure you're okay?”

“Hmm, me? Oh yeah, I'm fine.” Tony waved his hand dismissively as he got to his feet. His ankles seemed a little shaky, so Steve placed a supportive arm under Tony's and helped him up. Keeping like this, Steve began to walk Tony to the living room, where JARVIS had told him the other Avengers were waiting. 

“If you're so 'fine', then do you think you could tell me a little about yourself?” Steve asked with a smirk, playing Tony's game and trying to catch him in a lie. Tony snorted and began to rattle off various life facts, such as his name, family, birthday, etc. As he rambled on, Steve just shook his head, still a little worried. He didn't seem to remember which of the hallways led to the elevator, which floor the living room was on, or anything else about the tower. Steve began to get the feeling that Tony was just talking so Steve would be convinced that he was alright.

When they got into the living room, Steve set Tony down on the couch, and Bruce began to look him over for injuries. Tony didn't have a word to say on the subject, but his eyes showed a hint of expertly masked distrust, as if the team were just strangers to him.

“He seems fine,” Bruce muttered a few minutes later.

“See? Told you so!” Tony gloated, turning to Steve with a smug smile.

Steve rolled his eyes. “I think he might have hit his head,” he explained to Bruce. “He knows all about himself, but he didn't recognize his lab, or the rest of the tower.”

Bruce nodded and looked back to Tony. “In that case, would you mind telling me what year it is?”

“Yes.”

“Yes?”

“Yes, I would mind.”

“You would? And why is that?”

“Because I can't.”

“Can't what?”

“Tell you what year it is.”

“You mean you don't know what year it is?”

“Nope.” Throughout the exchange, Tony's expression didn't change and his voice remained as _Tony-ish_ as ever. 

“And that doesn't bother you?” Clint cut in.

“Nah, I'm used to it.”

The rest of the team exchanged a look. “You're used to it?” Natasha ventured carefully. 

Tony nodded.

“You're used to not knowing what year it is?”

He nodded again.

“It's 2013,” Bruce stated bluntly, watching Tony carefully for his reaction. Tony just shrugged, not affected at all.

The team exchanged another look. “What year do you remember it being last?” Steve pushed. Bruce shot him a stern glance. “Steve,” he warned. This got Tony's attention.

“Wait, wait, wait. Steve?” He nodded. “Steve _Rogers?_ ” He nodded again, slowly. Tony collapsed back against the back of the couch. “No fucking way,” he laughed. “You know, I thought I recognized you!”

Another look was exchanged. “Come again?” Steve wasn't entirely sure if he heard right. If Tony couldn't even remember what year it was, then how could he possibly have recognized Steve? Tony just laughed. 

“Hey, what's this thing?” he asked, glancing down at his chest and tapping the arc reactor. Bruce's eyes shot around, getting conformation from the team, before cautiously, just in case it triggered a severe emotional response, explaining to Tony about Afghanistan and the arc reactor, which led to him explaining about Iron Man and the Avengers. Tony just listened, his expression changing slightly, not looking exactly worried, but not looking as confident as he had before. 

When Bruce finished explaining, the team asked Tony a few more questions about what he did and didn't remember. They discovered that he didn't really have any memory past when he was in his early twenties, but his personality hadn't changed much, as he answered the questions with jokes and sarcastic comments, very few of the responses actually sounding in any way serious. 

It was nearly dark by the time the team had finished their Q & A. They all went down to the kitchen to start working on dinner, leaving Tony alone in the living room. Before leaving, Bruce turned back to Tony. “This thing that happened with your memory... it's not good, Tony. I know you don't like it, but you should really think about calling a doctor.”

Tony let out a short laugh, smiling slyly. “Oh, don't worry. I'm definitely calling the Doctor.” 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, basically, Tony used to travel on and off with the 10th Doctor. He was never a full Companion, but he kind of jumped on board for an adventure every now and then when he was in his early twenties, and that's where he is remembering himself to be right now.  
> And, yes, Tony remembers Steve, but he remembers Steve from when he was tiny. Any guesses how? ;)


	2. Doctor! Hey!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony called the Doctor. Turns out, they're both pretty excited to do some running.

Tony's behavior was a bit odd for the next few days. For the most part, he acted like the team expected: like a twenty-year-old version of himself. He still drank a lot and did his experiments, but everything about the way he acted just seemed younger and more carefree. What was odd were the idiosyncrasies he had developed, or perhaps grew out of. Little things, like seemingly never blinking and absolute refusal to walk through shadows. The team had raised their eyebrows at this, but thought better than to mention anything.

Bruce had told Tony that it would be a good idea to call a doctor, and Tony had agreed, but over the next few days it just never seemed to happen. Bruce had had enough of his friend's refusal to ever ask for help, so he decided that he was going to make Tony call a doctor. After all, it was for the best. 

Bruce found Tony gazing at the sky through the window (another one of his now-returned habits) later that night. He walked up next to him and stood there silently for a while. Tony probably knew he was there, but was choosing not to acknowledge him. Bruce decided to be the bigger man and speak first. “You know, I don't think you ever really called that doctor.”  


Tony's eyes widened in surprise. “Oh my god, you're right! I completely forgot to call the Doctor! How could I forget?” He reached over to the table where he had left his phone and started to dial a number. Bruce's eyes drew together in confusion. “You do know you could just have JARVIS do that, right?”

Tony smirked as he finished punching in the number. “Private conversation,” he said, turning to leave the room. After a few seconds, Bruce followed him, wanting to make sure that Tony was actually calling a doctor and not just pretending to do so so the team wouldn't pester him about it. And who knew? Maybe even just listening to Tony's side of the conversation would fill in a few details for the team. He hadn't exactly been very open with them.

Once Tony was out of the room, he held the phone to his ear and listened to it ringing, praying that it got answered quickly. He really needed to get away.

***

The Doctor sat in the control room of the TARDIS, reading a book. He sighed. How boring it was, just _reading._ How normal. His mind wasn't on what he suspected was actually a very good book. Instead, it was focused on his lack of companions.

He would never admit it, but the Doctor was very lonely. His thoughts kept drifting back to his old “Team TARDIS”, as Daze had called them. He hadn't seen any of them in years. He contemplated dropping by and picking one or two of them up for a trip, but decided that they had moved on, like Sarah- Jane. Daze was always up for a trip, but he knew that she would be mad at him for interrupting her school work, because he always picked her up when she was still young enough to be in school. She was more fun that way.

A sharp ringing distracted the Doctor from his musings. He looked up. Was that the phone? _Someone was calling!_ The Doctor was excited. People hardly ever called! He scrambled to his feet and rushed to pick it up. He held the device to his ear, book now long forgotten. “Hello?”

“Doctor! Hey!” He knew that voice. That sounded like...

“Tony?”

“Yeah, its me.”

The Doctor smiled. “Hello, Tony! Oh, it has been a while. Well, a while for me, anyway. Has it been a while for you? I think it has, your voice sounds deeper. But, then again, can't be sure about these things.”

A laugh sounded from the other end of the phone. “Yeah, it has. At least, I think it has.”

“You think?”

“I've been having some memory problem,” he explained.

“Sorry to hear it.”

Tony shrugged. “Could be worse, but apparently I've forgotten the past twenty years of my life.”

“I don't think there's anything I can do about that.”

“Didn't think so. Wasn't asking for it. I was just calling because I _would_ like a visit.”

The Doctor perked up at this. “You want to go traveling?”

“Yeah, just figured I needed-”

“A get-away? Oh, not to worry, I'll be there in a flash! Where are you? Oh! And when! When and where are you?”

Another laugh from the other end of the phone. “Avengers Tower in New York, apparently,” Tony said, still remembering it to be Stark Tower, like his father had been planning to build. He gave the Doctor the date for the next morning, and said his goodbyes. 

“Okay then, Tony! I will see... you... soon!” And with that, the TARDIS was off. When it landed, not more than a minute later for the Doctor, he straightened his bow tie with a smile, already looking forward to a great adventure.

*** 

Bruce stayed hidden around the corner from Tony, drinking in all the details he could get from his side of the conversation.

“Doctor! Hey!... Yeah, its me...” A laugh. “Yeah, it has. At least, I think it has... I've been having some memory problems...” A shrug. “Could be worse, but apparently I've forgotten the past twenty years of my life... Didn't think so. Wasn't asking for it. I was just calling because I _would_ like a visit... Yeah, I just figured I needed-...” Another laugh followed by the address, the next day's date, and a goodbye.

Bruce shook his head. Maybe eavesdropping on the “private conversation” hadn't been such a good idea, after all. If anything, he was more confused that he was before. Why would Tony give his doctor their address, or a date? Maybe he was having the doctor come over for a house call? He sighed. At least Tony was getting help.

After he hung up, Tony dashed off to his room. He grabbed an old back pack and stuffed in his project book, a flash light, and some clothes. He wasn't sure how long the trip would be, or where they were going, but he was sure of one thing: he couldn't wait.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, just in case no one was wondering, Daze is my OC. She'll be properly introduced in either the next chapter or the chapter after that. She's my first OC, so I'd really like to hear your opinions on her, because if you think that she's too annoying or anything then I'll take her out of the story.  
> Also, I will most likely be updating every other week day. Don't hold me to it, though, because it mostly depends on when I have enough free time and will to write.


	3. Going Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things were never normal at Avengers Tower, but a police box appearing in the living room is weird, even for them. Well, all except for Tony.

Tony didn't sleep at all that night; he was far too excited. His mind kept racing over the possibilities this trip would bring: where they were going, what they were doing. He even thought it might help him remember. Being around the team just felt like a punch in the gut to him. He didn't know them anymore, but they knew him. Every time he saw one of them he could just tell how much they wanted him to remember. They wanted _their_ Tony, not him.

By 4 a.m., he gave up all hopes of relaxing and made his way back down to his lab, hoping that Bruce wouldn't be working on anything tonight. Apparently, he had offered to share his lab with Bruce, so that was where the man did all of his experiments. Thankfully, the lab was empty, so he dropped his bag next to one of the work tables and tried to find something to keep himself occupied. 

After another hour or so, Steve came down, looking for him. It was weird, seeing Steve all big and strong and in 2013. He still remembered him being that small kid from Brooklyn from when the Doctor took him on that trip to the 30s. He didn't think Steve had really gotten a good look at him back then, but he decided that it would be better to be safe than sorry and try not to spend too much time around him, just in case he remembered seeing Tony back then, because he didn't know how he would react if he learned that Tony could time travel. He had told Tony about being frozen in ice, so he guessed that Steve would want to be taken back, even though he was an Avenger now.

When Steve came down, it was about 5:30, and Tony was working on one of his projects to try to keep himself occupied. “How long have you been up?” Steve asked. Tony was in no way an early riser.

Tony looked up, momentarily, before turning his focus back to his work. “Never slept,” he said curtly. “Couldn't”

“Why not?” Steve was a little concerned, now. Was Tony having nightmares? Tony just shrugged and turned up the music.

Since it was apparent that Tony wasn't going to do any more talking, Steve went to the gym. It was half past nine before something caught his attention. He was stepping out of the shower to join the others for breakfast when he heard it: a whirring sound. A very loud, indescribable whirring sound. It didn't even last a minute, and Steve was left wondering if he had just imagined it.

He threw on his clothes and wandered out into the hall. The rest of the team, sans Tony and Thor, who was back on Asgard, were walking by, on their way to the kitchen as well, so Steve joined them. He was almost going to ask if they had heard the strange noise, too, but a sight in the living room made him stop dead in his tracks. 

It was a box. A big, blue box. A big, blue police box in the middle of their living room. Confused, he looked to the others for answers, but they gaped back, just as confused. He was just about to walk up to it; touch it; see if it was real, when the door opened to reveal a tall, gangly young man with suspenders and a bow tie. He smiled, Steve stared.

“Steve? Is that you? Oh, I haven't seen you in years! You've changed a lot since that last time we met, but then again, so have I.”

“You know him?” Clint asked Steve. Steve just shook his head. “I've never seen him before in my life,” he whispered back. Clint's eyebrows drew together in confusion. “Then who is he?”

The man seemed to have overheard this. “Who, me? I'm the Doctor! Saver of worlds; traveler of time! Pleased to meet you!”

The team looked back at Steve, just in case hearing the man identify himself as “the Doctor” rang any bells for him, but he just shook his head again, so Natasha decided to take control of the situation. “So, what are you doing here, Doctor-...?” she let the sentence hang so the man could fill in the rest of his name.

“Doctor, yes. And I'm here to pick up-”

“Doctor!” Tony's voice rang out before the man had the chance to finish the sentence. He was walking toward him, a genuine smile on his face.

“Tony!” The man called the Doctor's face lit up as well. “Well, you certainly have gotten bigger since I saw you last! And more... glow-ey,” he said, waving his finger at the arc reactor. Tony laughed. As he got closer, however, his smile faltered a little.

“You regenerated.”

The Doctor started to feel a little bad about this. Would Tony still want to go even though the trip would be with a Doctor different than he remembered? “Oh, well, yes. Should have known you wouldn't have remembered that. Sorry, couldn't be helped. I hope it doesn't change anything because if it does, I can just go. Seriously, you don't need to-”

Tony shook his head, cutting him off. “Nah, it's cool. I was just hoping for a familiar face, is all.” 

The Doctor brightened again. “Well, if that's all, then lets go! We can drop by and pick up Daze from school.”

“She miss me?” Tony asked jokingly.

“Won't shut up about it. Now, come on!” With that, the Doctor disappeared back into the police box, and Tony went to follow. Bruce stopped him.

“What do you think you're doing?” Tony pointed to the door of the box, indicating that he was going to go in. “You know him?” Tony nodded. “How?” 

Tony snorted. “Wouldn't you like to know.”

He continued over to the box and opened the door. “I'll be back later,” he called over his shoulder as he walked in, shutting the door behind him.

“Back?” Clint echoed. “What does he mean, 'back'? It's a _police box._ ” Just as he finished speaking, the whirring noise started up again, and the blue box started fading in and out of sight until it disappeared completely.


	4. Which Way?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All they have to do is pick up Daze, then they're off!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, not much is going to be going on in the chapter. Pretty much all it is is an introduction to Daze. This chapter is mostly focused on her, but she won't be the main focus of the entire piece. Let me know what you think! (:

Alexandra Dazenmire, Daze to her friends, stood in front of the mirror in the girls' washroom, trying to clean herself up after the mishap in her potions class. One of the Slytherins had sabotaged her work, throwing something into her cauldron when her back was turned, and the contents had ended up exploding, making a mess of her appearance.

She had finally cleaned the last of the black streaks off of her face when she stopped to take in her reflection. She had straightened her robes as best she could, bits of yellow show that she was a Hufflepuff and proud of it. Her bright blue eyes shone happily as she ran her thumb along her cheek, her porcelain skin still a little pink and sore from when she was smacked down onto the floor. Most of the attention usually fell on her hair, though. It was dark brown and silky smooth, but what grabbed peoples eyes was the way it appeared to be styled. It arched up on the sides of her head before falling back down, almost as if it had been teased. This wasn't the case, however. It naturally looked that way. Daze was an animagus, and the animal she could shift into was a dog. Nothing special, just a little papillon, but she always thought her human hair and her [papillon ears](http://www.pets4you.com/images/breed_description/pap.jpg) looked that same.

Before she left the washroom, her hands fell down to the locket around her neck. It was her prized possession; a gleaming silver rectangle with gorgeous sapphires all over the front. On the inside, there was a picture of the old Team TARDIS, taken the last time they had all been together. She opened it up and sighed, looking down at all of the (mostly) happy faces smiling back up at her. She smiled sadly as she closed it. She missed them.

With one final glance in the mirror to make sure she hadn't missed anything, Daze grabbed her bag off the floor and left the washroom. She was heading back to the Hufflepuff common room when she heard something coming from one of the other hallways. She stopped for a moment, listening, before a smile tugged itself across her face. She knew that sound. Some people might find that sound a little strange, but to Daze, there was nothing better. It was her favorite sound: the TARDIS sound.

She turned on her heel and followed the sound until she saw it, the familiar blue box looking a little out of place in the Hogwarts corridor. She bit her lower lip as her smile widened, walking up to the door just seconds before the Doctor pulled it open with much flourish and a childish grin.

“You couldn't have picked me up on a weekend?” Her tone was half scolding, but her big blue eyes shone with the other half; the joking half.

A brilliant smile lit up the Doctor's face. “Nope!” he exclaimed cheerily, and he swept up Daze and pulled her into the TARDIS.

Seriously, Doctor, I have work to- Tony!” She squealed as she caught sight of him, running over and throwing her arms around his neck. “Oh, I've _missed_ you!”

Tony snorted. “So I've heard,” he said as he wrapped his arms around her tiny frame. She pulled back a minute later, smiling brightly up at him.

“What, no hug 'hello' for me?” the Doctor asked with mock offense. Daze shoved his shoulder playfully as Tony answered, “Nope, just for me! I'm special.”

“Here we go with the ego,” the Doctor sighed jokingly, and Daze laughed as Tony's face screwed up with pride and irritation. _Just like old times,_ she thought to herself as she watched Tony and the Doctor exchanging snarky jokes and sarcastic comments. She excused herself to go get changed out of her her school robes, but when she came back, they were still at it.

“You done?” she asked as they slowed to a stop. The Doctor huffed a short laugh and a smile blossomed across Tony's face. The Doctor went to fiddle with one of the controls and Tony turned back to Daze, suddenly a bit more serious. “How long has it been since you last saw me?” he asked.

Daze thought about this for a moment. “Maybe a month or two,” she said. “I'm guessing its been a bit longer since you've seen me.”

“Uh, yeah. I mean, I think so. I've been having some memory problems,” he confessed when Daze raised an eyebrow.

“Noticed,” she said, not even bothering to try to hide the amusement in her voice. The smile she flashed him was some combination of cheeky and sympathetic, and Tony marveled at her ability to mix expressions.

“That should do it!” the Doctor's voice rang out from the other side of the controls. “So, Mr. Special-Man,” he said, excited eyes on Tony. “Where do you want to go?”


	5. Time to Play

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone in Avengers Tower is confused, but everyone in the TARDIS is excited!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine's Day!

Confusion erupted at Avengers Tower with the disappearance of Tony and his mysterious friend in the blue box.

“What the hell just happened?” Clint voiced his confusion as Steve walked forward, hands out, to where the box had stood moments ago, feeling for it in case it was still there and had just been turned invisible. “It isn't here,” he said, voice barely above a whisper, completely disbelieving.

“But that's not possible,” Bruce said. “It's just a police box.”

“Obviously not!” Steve spit back, still trying to wrap his mind around the current situation. Bruce's mouth snapped shut, but his eyes stayed fixed on Steve. He didn't apologize for his unnecessary harshness, but went on, saying, “If it can get in and out of this building on its own then it is _not_ just a phone box,” in a slightly gentler tone. “But just ignoring the 'how' for a moment, we don't even know why this happened.”

“Maybe he was kidnapped,” Clint supplied. “You know, tricked into going inside that box, then someone one the outside moved it out?”

“But he knew the man,” Natasha countered, and Clint bristled slightly, miffed that she was shooting down his theory. She noticed, but ignored it, continuing on. “He knew they were leaving, too. Besides, not even _Stark_ has come up with anything on teleportation. If one of our enemies found a way to make technology like that, then so would we.”

“Fine, then, maybe it was aliens.”

“That's exactly what it was,” Tony's voice drifted unexpectedly from JARVIS's speakers. The team jumped, surprised, but were all secretly relieved that Tony was all right.

“Stark,” that was Steve's leader voice, “what's going on here?”

“Nothing, Cap,” he said innocently. “I'm just calling to let you know that I left a simulation running in the lab, so don't cut the power or anything.”

He sounded like he was going to hang up, so Steve stopped him. “Stark, hang on a minute. What's going on, where are you?”

Tony snorted. “Where, indeed,” he said before hanging up the phone.

***

Back on the TARDIS, the group hung about in the Vortex while Tony thought about where he wanted to go. Daze, in the spare time, had curled up on the floor and gone to sleep, and the Doctor had gone back to the book he had been reading. Tony knew that they were in no hurry, so he took his time deciding.

As he thought, however, his mind wandered over to the fact that, after getting off the phone with the Avengers, he seemed to have gained some hazy memory of the first time he had shown Steve how to call someone using JARVIS. He smiled to himself. He had been right about the trip helping with his memory.

He glanced from Daze to the Doctor, realizing how much he had missed them; their high energy, child-like personalities, all the running, and how they all just seemed to fit together. Even after being separated for four years (in Tony's mind, anyway), they all just fell back into their old, easy rhythm. Everything was, as per usual, both entirely familiar and completely new.

He was suddenly aware of two pairs of eyes watching him with amusement. He turned his head from where he had been staring off into space to meet their gazes, their eyes twinkling excitedly. “What?” he asked with a laugh.

“Nothing,” Daze answered brightly, biting her lower lip in a futile attempt to contain her smile.

Tony smiled, too, shaking his head. “No, I don't know where I want to go, yet,” he said, knowing that that was what they wanted to ask him.

The Doctor groaned. “Come on! You're going to have to pick sometime! Just name a date, it's not hard.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Not hard for you, maybe,” he muttered under his breath. The Doctor gave him a suffering look. “Fine, if its so easy, then you pick for me,” he said.,

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“You sure?”

“Yes!” Tony laughed, walking over to sit down next to Daze. “Anywhere has always been fine by me, anyway.”

The Doctor smiled, rocketing up from where he sat to reach the controls. “Well, alright then. Here we go!” And the TARDIS was off to God knows where, or when.

They landed abruptly, smile still shining on the Doctor's face. “Here we are, then,” he said brightly, striding over to the doors and opening them with a flourish. “London, 1688!”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven't been writing, but my schedule has been crazy. And just as a heads-up, I'm not going to be able to post anything next week, either. Posting should resume on the 23rd, depending on how much time I have.


	6. Best Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a day with Daze and the Doctor, but Tony can't remember having one had better.

Right now, dashing around 1688's London trying to find the runaway alien that had been causing mischief, Tony found it hard to understand why he ever left. He was happy here, running amuck with Daze and the Doctor. Sure, he might not really understand in the slightest what was going on, but it was fun and he enjoyed it.

“Gotcha!” the Doctor cried as they cornered the alien, the name of its species Tony hadn't bothered to remember. After the excitement of the chase, he found it hard to pay attention to what was happening, but the Doctor somehow managed to convince and/or scare the alien into leaving Earth. With the alien wedged firmly between the two men in the group, they walked it back to its spaceship, watching it until it left the atmosphere.

“So, it's gone now?” Tony asked.

“Yes,” the Doctor confirmed.

“Think it'll ever come back?” The question came from Daze, who didn't like anyone messing with her planet.

The Doctor shrugged. “Who knows? Well, I know. No, I think he's learned his lesson. Besides, who's gonna mess with a planet that's got people like us around to protect it?”

They all stood watching the sky for a few more minutes until the Doctor spoke up again, breaking the silence. “Alright-y then, that's over,” he said, grabbing the others' attention. They both turned to look at him before he continued, grinning madly. “What's next?”

*** 

The TARDIS doors opened to reveal present-day London. The Doctor stepped out first, babbling on about the restaurant he was taking them to; the best, and possibly only, place to get fish fingers and custard. Tony grinned to himself, thinking that this regeneration certainly did have strange tastes, but shuddered at the thought of tasting the combination.

“Worst part is, it's actually not that bad.” Daze had to stand on her tip-toes to be able to whisper in Tony's ear, but that didn't stop her from doing it.

“Are you some kind of a mind reader now?” Tony whispered back. He knew he hadn't said or done anything to clue her into his train of thought.

“Yes, she is,” the Doctor, who had been leading the other two to the restaurant, turned around to say. “Something, I suspect, they've been teaching her at school.”

Daze shook her head. “Hidden talent,” she laughed.

“Well, you learn something new every day.”

Tony hummed thoughtfully. “Certainly feels that way with you two around,” he said.

“And that is why we travel!” the Doctor responded enthusiastically. “Actually, no. That's why you travel, Tony. I travel because its fun.”

Tony rolled his eyes as the Doctor turned back around, looking up and down the street at all the signs, trying to find the right one. “Here we are!” he exclaimed, stopping outside the door of the building at the end of the street. Tony raised an eyebrow. It didn't look like much, but he followed the Doctor in all the same. 

As soon as the group all slid into their seats, the lively conversation started up. It mostly consisted of energetic, friendly banter, stories that started with the words “Do you remember that one time...?”, and when the occasional joke was told, they all broke into fits of laughter. They were all quite loud, and some of the other customers shot glares in their general direction, wanting them to quiet down but not willing to say anything.

When the waitress brought out the fish fingers and custard the Doctor had ordered, both he and Daze pressured Tony into trying a bite. His hesitancy was plain to see at first, but as he took his first bite his face changed entirely. “Oh my god,” he said in shock. “How is it possible for it to taste this good?”

The other two laughed, and soon the conversation had started up again. The group stayed in the restaurant until they were shooed out for closing. After that, they wandered about the city for a while, star gazing, people watching, and at one point the Doctor dared Tony to jump into the Thames. Tony had almost been considering it when Daze squealed something about a scarf on display in one of the shop windows. Her eyes shone with so much excitement that Tony couldn't resist buying for her. He also got a scarf for the Doctor, an extremely long, striped scarf with just about every color in the rainbow interspersed with brown that made the Doctor put his head in his hands when Tony presented it to him, and they were all in fits of laughter once more.

It was getting late when they returned to the TARDIS, breath misting in the air before them. Tony couldn't remember the last time he had a day this nice. When they went back to Hogwarts to drop off a reluctant to leave Daze, she cheated a bit and used her magic to restore Tony's memory. She gave them one last smile before darting off down the hall to make it to her next class on time. Tony smiled, too, as he watched her go, truly remembering how much he had missed this. 

“So I guess we better be getting you home, too,” the Doctor said, a hint sadness and weariness creeping into his voice.

Tony's smile faltered, the same sadness and weariness washing through him as well. “Yeah,” he said with a sigh. “I guess we better.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omigosh guys!! One more chapter! After that, there will be crossovers with Sherlock, Supernatural, and one at the end where everybody's back together. I'll also be writing a collection of their past travels with the Doctor- I'll be using 10 for that- so keep an eye out for that. I'm working on the first one right now, when Tony meets the Doctor for the first time, so it should be up pretty soon. Sorry if things might take a while to put up this week, I'm playing catch-up in school right now, but I'll try my best! And leave me a comment with what you think so far. I love getting comments! I never have the time to say it, but they mean the world to me <3


	7. Go or Stay?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick conclusion. Not much to it, but I thought it was kinda cute.

The Doctor felt the TARDIS materialize back in Avengers Tower with a heavy feeling in his hearts. He hadn't traveled with anyone in so long he almost forgot how much fun It could be. He liked traveling with Tony; he didn't want to see him go.

“Home again, home again,” the Doctor said, forcing a smile onto his face that didn't quite manage to look quite happy.

“Yeah, home,” Tony echoed, forcing the same smile onto his face as well. It was nice, traveling with the Doctor. He almost wanted to go back out again. “Well, Doc, it's been fun.”

“You don't have to leave, you know. You can stay, if you want. Be a companion, travel the universe.” The Doctor's voice was soft, but hopefully, and he waited for Tony's response.

Tony's breath caught in his throat. _The Doctor was offering him the chance to be a companion_ He bit his tongue to keep himself from accepting too quickly, but when he did, his mind turned to his newly regained memories of his friends. He couldn't just leave them, could he? The Avengers needed him. He supposed they could find someone to replace him, but they wouldn't be as good. Besides, the Doctor needed him, too. If he traveled on his own, there would be no one there to keep him from making a stupid decision. Still, he could find someone else to be his companion, too.

His mind battled between wanting to go with the Doctor and wanting to stay with the Avengers. Why couldn't he just do both? With that, Tony realized that that was why he had left the Doctor all those years ago. He couldn't bring himself to leave behind his friends, but he wanted to go with the Doctor so badly. He had said that he would jump in occasionally, and that was what he did, for a while. Then, somehow, they had fallen out of touch. Tony stopped calling and asking to be picked up for a trip, and the Doctor stopped dropping in for surprise visits. And now Tony was faced with the same decision he was given back then after he first met the Doctor: go or stay? Was he going to let himself the same mistake?

“Doctor, I... I can't.”

Yes, apparently.

“I've got friends here, too,” he continued, “and they need me. I can't just leave them. And I really want to go with you, but I think it's best if I don't.”

The Doctor sighed. He had know that this would be Tony's answer; it was the same as what he had said last time. The Doctor chastised himself for letting himself get his hopes up, but he didn't let it show. “Same as last time?” he asked instead, deciding that even just traveling with Tony occasionally could still be good. Better than good, even.

Tony nodded. “Same as last time,” he confirmed.

“Then what are you still hanging around here for?” the Doctor asked, shooing him toward the door playfully. “Now, I've dropped you off about twelve hours after I picked you up, so you haven't been gone that long, but you should still probably think up some good stories to tell your friends because, lets face it, good stories are the best!”

Once he was out of the TARDIS, Tony looked back to the Doctor with a smile. “We'll travel some more later, knowing that the Doctor knew that Tony would call when he was ready to leave.

The Doctor smiled as well. “Any time, any place,” he promised. After that he disappeared back into the TARDIS, and Tony waved goodbye to him as the familiar blue box faded out of sight, feeling just slightly sad to see him go.

He turned and started walking down one of the hallways of his apartments, wanting to go get himself a drink, when he ran into the rest of the team. They had no doubt heard the sound of the TARDIS dematerializing and gone to investigate. As soon as they laid eyes on Tony, they began to angrily bombard him with questions about what had happened and why he left and why the hell hadn't he told any of them about this?

Unable to stand more than a minute of their combined tirades, Tony pulled out his phone and quickly dialed a number. “Hey, Doc? I think I might be needing that trip sooner rather than later.”

 

**Fin**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that just about wraps up this story. Thanks for reading! The next work is going to be Sherlock/Doctor Who, and I'm still working on the collection of past adventures. I'm not sure when either of those will be up, but keep you're eyes peeled!


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